Blog Archives
Is it to horrid a thought?
Thoughts which carry me to Jesus and to the Cross!
“Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, Hear the word of the sovereign LORD! This is what the sovereign LORD says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am bringing a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.Your altars will be ruined and your incense altars will be broken. I will throw down your slain in front of your idols.I will place the corpses of the people of Israel in front of their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars. In all your dwellings, the cities will be laid waste and the high places ruined so that your altars will be laid waste and ruined, your idols will be shattered and demolished, your incense altars will be broken down, and your works wiped out.The slain will fall among you and then you will know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 6:3–7, NET)
4. But I was far too impetuous, poor wretch, so I went with the flood-tide of my nature and abandoned you. I swept across all your laws, but I did not escape your chastisements, for what mortal can do that? You were ever present to me, mercifully angry, sprinkling very bitter disappointments over all my unlawful pleasures so that I might seek a pleasure free from all disappointment.
It is one thing I suppose, for Augustine to rejoice in God in God turning Augustine’s joy and pleasures into sour, disappointing losses. It would seem to be another to rejoice in God fulfilling the destruction He has Ezekiel communicate to the people of Israel, as He rids them of their idols.
It may not be.., in fact, we need to rejoice and ask God to wreck our idols, destroying them, even if it costs us our lives. That sounds painful and it will probably be very traumatic, for these idols have burrowed deeply into hearts and souls. We don’t even recognize them as idols in some cases, they have managed to become so ingrained in our lives.
The Holy Spirit is the only one who can cut away that kind of idolatry, using the Scriptures to cut away all that is not of God. (see Colossians 2:11-12) It’s not pretty – because of the grip idolatry and other sin has on us, and our own attraction to it.
This brutal attack on our idols is God’s desire, even as it is our cry when we cry out for His mercy.
When the Spirit frees us from our idols, the freedom enables us to rejoice in the pain, to look with joy and fondness at God spoiling the joy we once found in our rebellion and sin.
So what are these idols? The things we chase after, mistakenly believing that obtaining them will lead to our peace and contentment, that will calm our anxiety. We are more sophisticated in our how we create our idols these days. But they still promise what they can’t provide, they still offer security, or fame, or health, or peace.
And God in his mercy, removes these idols crushing them, as your life seems sour, and without joy, and even dead. Jesus can and does bring life to the dead, and life where there was nothing.
We will find a whole different life as God cuts away the idols…
And we we rejoice in His work, and the difference it makes in life.
Saint Augustine. (2012). The Confessions, Part I (J. E. Rotelle, Ed.; M. Boulding, Trans.; Second Edition, Vol. 1, p. 64). New City Press.
Freedom, Liberty, and your Rights –
Thoughts which carry me, even drag me to Jesus and the Cross
“When any of you has a legal dispute with another, does he dare go to court before the unrighteous rather than before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you not competent to settle trivial suits? Do you not know that we will judge angels? Why not ordinary matters! So if you have ordinary lawsuits, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church?I say this to your shame! Is there no one among you wise enough to settle disputes between fellow Christians?” (1 Corinthians 6:1–5, NET)
Francis told them: “When you pray, say “Our Father” and “We adore you, O Christ, in all your churches throughout the whole world, and we bless you, for by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.”
To any human who bothers to think a bit, it should be evident that there is in our society no such thing as absolute freedom—for only God is free!
It is inherent in creaturehood that its freedom must be limited by the will of the Creator and the nature of the thing created. Freedom is liberty within bounds, liberty to obey holy laws, liberty to keep the commandments of Christ, to serve mankind, to develop to the full all the latent possibilities within our redeemed natures. True Christian liberty never sets us free to indulge our lusts or to follow our fallen impulses
Tozer’s words about freedom seem so appropriate today, though written decades past. He smacks down the illusion of idols named freedom and liberty. For they are not absolute, they are not all powerful, and they aren’t all merciful… for they have a cost that is reminiscent of slavery….unless…
It has been redeemed by the one who saves us, that He is allowed to put the limits on our freedom, limits which recognize His role as our God, and the limits He placed on Christ’s freedom, which was given the boundaries of what best cared and provided for us.
Tozer said “mankind,” but lets simplify it – our children, our parents, our parents, friends, co-workers and neighbors. Our liberty must be in tune with how we love those around us, those who need us to sacrifice for their well-being. whether the need is physical, psychological or spiritual.
That is what Paul us getting at with his comments on lawsuits–wisdom is required because God’s justice is different than man’s. It is based in mercy, love and loyalty– not just what is our “right” or allows us to maintain our liberty, above our community.
This is the truest freedom.. that found in our relationships…the freedom to be loved and to love.
Pasquale, G., ed. (2011). Day by Day with Saint Francis: 365 Meditations (p. 192). New City Press.
Tozer, A. W., & Smith, G. B. (2008). Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings. Moody Publishers.
The Search for Freedom’s Necessary Question: From What?
Thoughts which draw me closer to Jesus, and to the Cross!
51 God, be merciful to me because you are loving. Because you are always ready to be merciful, wipe out all my wrongs. 2 Wash away all my guilt and make me clean again. Ps 51:1– 2. NCV
We know in how many places it (the church and the smallest unit if it – the family) has been torn already; we know how many predatory fish have worked with might and main to tear it to pieces, allegedly in order to free people from their imprisonment in it. But it would be an empty freedom into which they would sink: the freedom of death, of loneliness, of the darkness that comes when truth is lost. It would be a liberation from the Kingdom of justice, love, and peace—from that new dimension into which the net is drawing us.
Defend and protect me against the wiles and deceptions of the evil one and all his power, and against the perversity of his servants, that their pride, hypocrisy and unrighteousness may not obtain over me nor bring harm upon me. Teach me to watch and pray, lest I enter into temptation, and grant me to hear with mine ears and see with mine eyes. For Thine, O Lord, is the glory, Thou only Source of all Grace
At the beginning of the United States of America, freedom was sought. Originally from outrageous taxes, but then a large group of other things were laid out as well. Freedom for religion, freedom of speech, freedom from injustice and others the Bill of Rights well defines what they sought. Over time, more calls for freedom were heard, and acted upon.
In my childhood, the cries for freedom once again were heard across the land, as the freedoms won in the civil war, had not yet become reality for many. Again, these were defined in various documents, such as the Civil Rights Act, and various court decisions.
We’ve learned to cry for freedom well, but we do not awlays engage wisdom and logic, asking the one critical question that needs to be asked.
From what do we want freedom from?
In far too many cases, we want freedoms that have unintended consequences that cause more pain and heartache. Some of these are religious freedoms, or freedom from religion. Free speech is awesome, until it allows for gossip and slander which hurts reputations, and causes damage to relationships. Sexual Freedom was so wanted, yet the damage it has done to marriage – even to those who are faithful once married, is beyond explanation. As a pastor,
As a pastor, I’ve helped many people heal from brokenness caused by the pursuit of freedoms that are ill-advised. For there are some that talk of casting off all bonds, all things that restrict us in any way, that freedom may take its course. They would rip the net God has established in the church, not realizing that it is primarily a safety net, to be there when a fall is immanent. That net draws us closer to Jesus, the course of our healing, the refuge we need, when all seems broken.
For His word is the answer to the Psalmist’s prayer mercy, it is the answer to the cry for our brokenness to be dealt with, for us to be restored. His word is the hope we have, when faced with temptation, when faced with decisions that could result in major trauma, to ourselves and to others.
And as such, it brings about the greatest of freedoms, the freedom from guilt and shame, the freedom to love, the freedom to know that we are the children of God, welcome in His presence, and that we can ask Him to help us with any burden, any situation.
This is the one freedom we cannot give up, the freedom found in our baptism, and reignited every time we commune, eating and drinking the blood of Christ. The freedom from sin and brokenness, won for us as Jesus gave up His freedom, and came and was born of Mary, and loved and died for us.
This is our hope for this Lent, to cause us to think of what we need to be freed from, and to cry out to Lord who makes that freedom possible. AMEN!
Ratzinger, Joseph. Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. Edited by Irene Grassl, Translated by Mary Frances McCarthy and Lothar Krauth, Ignatius Press, 1992, pp. 69–70.
Lœhe, William. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Translated by H. A. Weller, Wartburg Publishing House, 1914, pp. 189–90.
A Rant Against Injustice
Thoughts which draw me to Jesus, and to His cross..
15 If you put these people to death all at once, the nations who have heard about your power will say, 16 ‘The LORD was not able to bring them into the land he promised them. So he killed them in the desert.’
17 “So show your strength now, Lord. Do what you said: 18 ‘The LORD doesn’t become angry quickly, but he has great love. He forgives sin and law breaking. But the LORD never forgets to punish guilty people. When parents sin, he will also punish their children, their grandchildren, their great-grandchildren, and their great-great-grandchildren.’ 19 By your great love, forgive these people’s sin, just as you have forgiven them from the time they left Egypt until now.”
20 The LORD answered, “I have forgiven them as you asked. Numbers 14:15-20
We condemn this wicked idea about works. First, it obscures the glory of Christ when men offer these works to God as a price and propitiation, thus giving our works an honor that belongs only to Christ. Secondly, they still do not find peace of conscience in these works, but in real terror they pile up works and ultimately despair because they cannot find works pure enough. The law always accuses them and brings forth wrath. Thirdly, such people never attain the knowledge of God, for in their anger they flee his judgment and never believe that he hears them.
Shortly after being tortured she was transferred to another cell, where she found a tattered Bible. She opened it, and the first thing she saw was a picture of a man prostrate under lightning, thunder and hail. Immediately she identified herself with this man, saw herself in him. Then she looked further and saw in the upper part of the picture a mighty hand, the hand of God, and the text from the eighth chapter of the Letter to the Romans, a text that comes straight from the center of Resurrection-faith: “Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ” (8:39). And whereas at first it was the bottom half of the picture which she experienced, her being invaded by all that was terrible, crushing her like a helpless worm, she gradually came to experience more and more the other part of the picture, the powerful hand and the “Nothing can separate us”. At first she still prayed, “Lord, let me out of here”, but this interior shaking of the prison bars turned more and more into that truly free composure which prays, with Jesus Christ: “Not my will, but thine, be done.”
Injustice, some would say, is in the eyes of the oppressed. They get to consider what is just, and what is not, or at least a neutral court does. And if the court decides there is more oppression the the judgment isn’t right, the cries of injustice increase, and protests and even civil wars erupt.
I cannot find that sort of reaction in the writing of then Cardinal Ratzinger. I think if you asked the lady tortured about injustice, or it’s pseudonym–unrighteousness–you would get a far different attitude. For she found justice, real justice, in the pages of scripture and the etchings in that Bible. (I wonder if it was a Lutheran Bible – and the picture being of Luther’s desperate plea for God to save him.) The justice she found was so satisfying, that she could leave her situation in the arms of God, and welcome His actions, or inactions.
I envy her spiritual maturity….as I deal with my own challenges.
She encountered the love of God that would not let her go… and it didn’t.
And as she grew to depend on Him, His declaration of her righteousness took hold, and she knew peace in the despair.
That is why Melanchthon and Luther and the group around them so fought that injustice could only be defeated by Christ. That His forgiveness was not dependent on my, or the extreme measures I could take to stop sinning, and pay for those I’ve committed. (nor pawn them off on my descendants and friends – who have their own to deal with!) There is nothing I can do to fight injustice in war-torn regions of the world, but pray and try to help them see Jesus’ power to deal with their own sins, and then, they can see the sins of their “oppressors” dealt with as well.
THis is so clear in the passage from Numbers – Israel’s injustice had to be dealt with. They were rejecting God, they were looking to their own wisdom, they were dismissing His care for them. But God, in His mercy, hears the cry of Moses, and forgives them as promised. Why? Because they were His.
As was the lady imprisoned,
As were you and I…
“Apology of the Augsburg Confession: Article IV, 204” Theodore G. Tappert, ed., The Book of Concord the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press, 1959), 135.
Joseph Ratzinger, Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year, ed. Irene Grassl, trans. Mary Frances McCarthy and Lothar Krauth (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1992), 25–26.
The Paradox of Freedom and Faith
Thoughts which drive me to Jesus, and to the cross!
If the Son sets you free, then you will be really free. John 8:36 (TEV)
Not that grace somehow adds to an otherwise imperfect creation, but that grace puts a stop to our misguided attempts to usurp God’s place and so allows creation to shine forth in all its glory
The “world” is the body of those who hate, because they are prisoners of their own narrow illusions and petty desires. They cannot recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit because they are not willing to conform their lives to His inspirations. They cannot become free with the freedom Jesus compared to the unpredictable blowing of the wind, for they are rooted in their own attachments and bound down by their own compulsions. They have a fixed way of acting (which may be wild and erratic and possess a spurious “freedom” of its own) and they cannot break away from it. They have rendered themselves incapable of doing anything but their “own will” in the sense of their enslaved will. Only the Spirit Himself can penetrate their hard carapace of resistance, and too often they will not let Him do so. They are unable to love freely because they are afraid of freedom.
The power and effect of faith are especially seen in temptations, when sin, death, devil, and hell are overcome. Nor are these weak enemies; they bring out perspiration, weaken our limbs, and make heaven and earth cramped. When the devil and death come, no one can help except only the person who has said, I am he who shall sustain thee. Under such conditions we learn what faith is.
Yesterday, my son’s high school was locked down, and for several hours I waited for him to be released. First, they were kept secure in a classroom. Then, they were escorted to some fenced in tennis courts where, eventually, they were released to parents. The parents waited in the sunlight for hours, because of miscommunication.
My thoughts upon getting into the car hours after I arrived was the old phrase, “Free at last, Free at Last!” A couple of hours of inconvenience, and yet I treated it like a lifelong trauma. ( A little projection here, as I was also wanting to deal with some other traumatic events)
So I was thinking about freedom as I came across these words this morning. And the illusion of freedom was shredded, again and again.
When we clamor and protest to have freedom, we must contemplate two things:
- What are we wanting freedom from?
- What do we want to do with this freedom?
Answering those questions will help us determine whether what we want is truly freedom, or simply the ability to serve our own preferred slavery –to our lusts and desires, our addictions and other sins that plague us. The problem is, enslaved to those things–we don’t even realize we are enslaved! Or, if we do, the lure of that which we are enslaved to overshadows the life we don’t know we can live.
Luther’s words about faith are clear here. It is not an easy fight to overcome sin. It requires a lot sweat and a lot of tears. It takes prayer, and mostly, it takes dying with Jesus on the cross to break those shackles, and the work of the Holy Spirit to draw us to that cross.
Forde’s words are so clear to that as well, as the Holy Spirit convinces us to set aside our self-idolatry, nailing that sin to the cross as well. That when the Son sets us free- we can begin to see glimpses of the glory of God.
There is freedom from everything we need to be free from – hatred, violence, anxiety, resentment, sin, guilt and shame…
And there is freedom to do one thing… to love.
Upon getting home, just before 6, homework and chores awaited both my son and I. As did dinner. We weren’t free to do whatever we wanted, but we were free to do that which was good, and beneficial. Mostly, my family was free to be together. And so it is with freedom we find in Christ Jesus-we are free to be in the presence of God, to know His love, to be with our brothers and sisters in Christ…
This is accomplished simply by having faith in God, depending on what He’s promised – that He will set you truly free..
Gerhard O. Forde, “Hearing,” in Theology Is for Proclamation (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1990), 144.
Thomas Merton, The New Man (London; New York: Burns & Oates, 1976), 132.
Martin Luther and John Sander, Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year (Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern, 1915), 102.
Want to Overcome Sin? Start with this…
Devotional Thought of the Day:
1 [By David.] With all my heart I praise the LORD, and with all that I am I praise his holy name! 2 With all my heart I praise the LORD! I will never forget how kind he has been. Psalm 103:1–2 (CEV)
We were told in the Second Commandment, “You shall not take God’s name in vain.” Thereby we are required to praise the holy name and pray or call upon it in every need. For to call upon it is nothing else than to pray.
It is just as true to say that every snowflake is a gift of God as it is true to say that every cent in a father’s inheritance is a gift to his children. It is just as true to say that every leaf on every tree is a work of art made by the divine Artist with the intention that we see it, know it, love it, and rejoice in it, as it is true to say that every word in a lover’s letter to his beloved is meant to be seen, known, loved, and enjoyed.
33 What are you so proud of?—Every impulse that moves you comes from Him. Act accordingly.
Sin is a huge issue in our lives.
We can not deny it. We can’t really hide it either.
It leaves us broken and shattered.
It leaves us avoiding people, some because we resent them because of some sin they committed against us. Some people we want to avoid because we feel so guilty, so ashamed, and being in their presence brings those feelings crashing down upon us.
As we look at the commands, there is one that sticks out to me, one that can be quickly dealt with, and as it is, we find the grace to deal with the others.
Luther talks about it, the commandment to not use God’s name in vain. Luther points out that means we sin when we should use it when we should cry out to Him for help, and do not use it. When our vanity causes the Lord’s name to be misused.
Imagine not eating because you don’t want to spend the money you have in the bank. I imagine going barefoot on a hike in the mountains because you don’t want to scuff up your new boots. There is a logic that simply doesn’t make sense to these imaginations, that still doesn’t make sense when God pleads with us to call upon Him, to cast our burdens upon Him, to let Him heal us.
You want to stop living in the dark shadows of sin? Cry out to God, call upon Him, don’t leave His name unused, for that is as wrong as using it wrongly.
What happens then, as you begin to converse with God, is that you realize how much He is doing, you start to look for how He encourages you! You see it in the care he takes with the color of a leaf, or the smile of a child, you being to see His artistry in everything, and realize that this artistry is at work in your life as well. As St. Josemaria describes we begin to understand the good things in our lives are there because the Holy Spirit is guiding and empowering us in them, providing the impulse that drives our work
That beauty, that wonder is what leads the Psalmist to praise God, to exclaim in wonder at God’s kindness, at His mercy and love. Our praise is always generated from seeing God at work in our lives. Even in the hard times, even when we have to confess our sin, or lay some burden down at His feet.
This is what happens when we stop using His name in a way that it shouldn’t be used… but call out to Him, even if that cry is as simple and profound as,
Lord have mercy one me a sinner…
He hears, and He answers… and we begin to dwell in peace.
Theodore G. Tappert, ed., The Book of Concord the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press, 1959), 420.
Peter Kreeft, The God Who Loves You (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2004), 20.
Escriva, Josemaria. The Forge . Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Struggle Within…
Devotional Thought of the Day:
3 This is the message which he told them to give to Isaiah: “Today is a day of suffering; we are being punished and are in disgrace. We are like a woman who is ready to give birth, but is too weak to do it.
King Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went to the Temple, placed the letter there in the presence of the LORD, 15 and prayed, 16† “Almighty LORD, God of Israel, seated above the winged creatures, you alone are God, ruling all the kingdoms of the world. You created the earth and the sky. 17 Now, LORD, hear us and look at what is happening to us! Isaiah 37:3,14-17 GNT
To focus on entering new life with Christ requires that we take a stand as to who we are in this new life, that we identify with the Christ-life in us and against the sin still present in our selves and that we settle in our will the question of who we intend to be. This is what it means to “count [ourselves] dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11).
Pray: Talk to God about the two lives, two streams of awareness and power, mingling together. Ask God to show you what you need to know about how to untangle them and choose more to be “alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
As I read the section from Isaiah this morning, the despair the Hezekiah described struck home. Against his enemies he felt too weak, all Israel seemed to weak. The graphic comment about a woman in labor who cannot, and surrenders to the weakness seems all too similar.
Our enemy is just as powerful, though not a horde, or a arm y can roll over us. It is far too integral to us, this old life of sin. It seems to wrap around us like one of the strands of DNA, unable to be separated from the other, Defining ourselves without the sense of brokenness we care too weak to defeat seems illogical. Like Paul that strand of sin, winding through our being causes us to do what we do not want to do, and prevents us from doing what we desire to do, what we know pleases God.
Theologically we know we are called to be holy, set apart to live life in the glory of God. Practically we find ourselves struggly, and even getting to the point where we give up the fight, where we are unwilling to fight anymore. Sin becomes the norm, again.
In the midst of the weakness, in the midst of despair, Hezekiah does something as outrageous as it is incredible. He enters the temple, he goes and places the letter from his oppressor in the presence of the LORD. He goes into the Holy of Holies, the place a priest awas allowed only once a year, and begs the LORD to look at their situation. The place where high priests could die because of their sin, he walks right in and says, “God, Look at this, help us! We are too weak, we have to have Your help!”
In the Holy of Holies, there he finds hope…
This is huge for us, as we need to realize that we can enter the presence of God almighty with that much boldness, setting aside everything that would restrain us. (see Hebrews!) That place where Hezekiah entered? It was the place of ultimate mercy, the place forgiveness, the place where the blood would be shed.
The place we need to abide, to dwell with God. The place where sin is separated from our DNA, for it was killed off to bring us to this place. The place where we know God rescued us no from the Assyrians, but from that which haunts us, our guilt, our shame, our brokenness, our sin.
The struggle within fades in the presence of God, when we realize His work to defeat it as the cross, and in our baptism, and everytime we take and eat His body, and drink His blood, testifying to the blood out, to cover our sin, to His death for us.
The struggle is still there, and until God complete the work He began is us (Phil. 1:6) we will struggle against this foe… yet that struggle is dealt with, not by our own strength, but simply by being in the place where God is with us…Overcoming it isn’t about 30 seconds there, but learning to dwell with Him (see Col. 3:1-3) To dwell in His presence in the darkest moments, to dwell with Him as He addresses our brokenness.
To know He, the LORD is with us!
Willard, D., & Johnson, J. (2015). Hearing god through the year: a 365-day devotional. Westmont, IL: IVP Books.
Te Missional Key To the Book of Revelation
Devotional Thought of the Day:
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Messiah have now come, because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown out: the one who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not love their lives in the face of death. Rev. 12:10-11 HCSB
223 Christ expects a lot from your work. But you will have to look for souls, as the Good Shepherd went after the hundredth sheep: without waiting to be called. Then make use of your friends to do good to others. Tell each one of them that nobody can feel at ease with a spiritual life which, after filling him, does not overflow with apostolic zeal.
As I am reading through Revelation, I am not surprised at how much verse 11 sticks out. It does every time I read it, it is just so powerful, this testimony of the victory of the saints, of our victory.
And yet this time, it struck me that this verse is one of the keys to understanding the Book of Revelation, and indeed, the role of the church in these days. If we understand this, the mission and the very existence of the church becomes clear.
We are sent, we have our apostolate. and we are freed to accomplish this work, assured that our victory over sin and Satan, and death is finally won. Satan has been conquered, and His ability to accuse us of sin is over.
That is where the word of our testimony is so powerful, for we witness to the love of Jesus, the incredible mercy that floods our lives, our hearts and souls cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. That is our testimony, not of our work, but of the love of God which establishes us as His children, His Holy People.
And having that testimony, that knowledge that we are God’s forever, our priorities change. NO longer are we concerned as much about our own pleasure, our own happiness? What becomes more important is the 1 whom has wandered from the 99, the child of God who has forgotten their Creator, their Father. Our hearts break for them, and their situation.
And drawing them back to Jesus, that becomes far more important than the latest toy, or that trip. Their eternity becomes more a concern than riches or fame. The foreigner who is lost, the woman in the hospital, the 20-something in jail, these are the priorities we gain over self-indulgence.
God with us, freeing us from all the fear of that which is to come, He is who we witness of, and that witness is what forms our life until He returns.
This is who we, the church, are called to be, a people full of joy as the love of God infects the world around us, drawing more an more people to Him, and into being part of His people.
We can only do that, knowing the victory of Satan is complete, and because of the blood of Jesus it is. AMEN!
Escriva, Josemaria. Furrow (Kindle Locations 1133-1136). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Am I crazy… enough?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
13 If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. 14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. 16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:13-17 (NLT2)
775 Lord, if it is your will, turn my poor flesh into a crucifix.
22 We urge you, however, to confess and express your needs, not for the purpose of performing a work but to hear what God wishes to say to you. The Word or absolution, I say, is what you should concentrate on, magnifying and cherishing it as a great and wonderful treasure to be accepted with all praise and gratitude.
23 If all this were clearly explained, and meanwhile if the needs which ought to move and induce us to confession were clearly indicated, there would be no need of coercion and force. A man’s own conscience would impel him and make him so anxious that he would rejoice and act like a poor miserable beggar who hears that a rich gift, of money or clothes, is to be given out at a certain place; he would need no bailiff to drive and beat him but would run there as fast as he could so as not to miss the gift.
There are some that would say I am not quite normal, and I think they might be on to something!
But beyond that, there is a certain part of Christianity that doesn’t make sense, that does seem crazy, that is beyond our ability to reason out.
This idea that perfection comes not from discipline and self-correction and an unbending will, but through facing our brokenness, and being compelled to let Jesus deal with it, to let him have it as He hangs on the cross. To let Him draw us into the suffering and death on the cross, , that we can know the peace and healing that only comes from seeing the body, broken for us, and the blood, poured out that we would be cleansed by it.
What was once a torture for Luther, (and Staupitz whom he confessed to!) hours in the confessional trying to get free of his sin which shattered his life, confessing his lies, and lust, his envy, and anger. He couldn’t find relief for it, and he mistook the sacrament of confession for a chance to atone for his sin, to be beaten up for the things he thought and said and did that were wrong.
Then he realized that this was a sacrament, a moment where God would come, and bring us through Christ’s death on the cross, through His death, so that we could be renewed, that we could be re-born. Confession and absolution as a blessing rather than a curse, Death with the promise of being made anew, without the brokenness, without the guilt and shame, but a new life dwelling in peace.
It may seem illogical, it may seem counter-intuitive, it is definitely scary at first, but allowing our sin to be nailed to the cross, as crazy as it seems, is a source of hope, a source of healing. Not because of our action, but because of His presence and promise., because of His love and mercy, because this is where we find hope for healing and for eternity.
If it sounds crazy, blame the craziness on me, yet still, know this. God is with you, and you can give Him everything, the good, the bad, the horrid, and at the cross, it will be taken care of, and you will know peace! AMEN!
Escriva, Josemaria. The Way (Kindle Locations 1790-1791). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Tappert, T. G. (Ed.). (1959). The Book of Concord the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (pp. 459–460). Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press.
Independence or Isolation? We need ot be careful which we choose.
Devotional Thought of the Day:
1 I lift my eyes to You, the One enthroned in heaven. 2 Like a servant’s eyes on his master’s hand, like a servant girl’s eyes on her mistress’s hand, so our eyes are on the LORD our God until He shows us favor. Ps. 123:1-2 HCSB
Many men and women are experiencing more and more today serious lowliness and neglect as a result of their excessive zeal for autonomy which they inherited from modernity. But mostly they have lost the support of something that transcends them.
For the last day or two, pictures from last summer remind me of my favorite place on earth. It is a quiet place, and even in the midst of the summer Deer Cove on Lake Ossipee was quiet, tranquil, a great place to walk, enjoy God’s creation and peace.
I miss it, this idyllic, beautiful peaceful place.
When life is stressful and overwhelming, when I am dealing with people in great trauma, I long to find the autonomy, the independence of such a place.
Yet I hear Pope Francis’s words this morning and I know my desire to be introverted, independent, emotionally off-the-grid is a trap. What I would be choosing is isolation, not freedom. What I think is an escape is a sentence, a form of suffering I could not bear.
We choose, far too often the very thing prison wardens do to those who will not live by the rules. We dwell in that place that makes memory stealing diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia so frightening.
Complete Isolation.
Complete Autonomy
Complete Loneliness.
While a good deal of our stress comes from others, so should the support that comes from the people of God. So does the reminder from others that I need to hear, that the Lord is with me. (and also with them!) We were made to live in community.
But that community starts in the presence of God, Where love and mercy are the greatest of gifts, the purest grace. (this is a necessity, otherwise, our sin and brokenness can make the community a nightmare.) As a community, as the Body of Christ, we look to God to provide that which we need, and the confidence of that provision grows.
Even as we learn to be merciful to each other, it grows. For that is the power of the Lord demonstrated in our midst.
Our desire for freedom, for independence, for autonomy is really a desire for freedom from sin and the brokenness, guilt, shame, and division it causes. As the sin is forgiven, as the mercy is realized, as our hearts re-discover peace and joy, the desire for independence disappears.
For we realize God is with Us, we realize His provision unites us, brings us together as a family. Brings us together in His peace.
Which is what we need, more than anything.
Heavenly Father, as we try to run away from all that oppresses us, help us look to you, open our eyes to Your mercy and love, Help us to rejoice in Your presence, together with all your saints. Help us to be confident in Your work in our lives. AMEN!
Pope Francis. (2013). A Year with Pope Francis: Daily Reflections from His Writings. (A. Rossa, Ed.) (p. 227). New York; Mahwah, NJ; Toronto, ON: Paulist Press; Novalis.
